The Suite Adult Life

June (10.2)

It took a week. Cody was ready to have his 'conversation' with Luna the next day but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted her to say the words. He wanted her to not do the easy thing and ghost him. It took a week of shallow text messages and noncommittal plan organizing before she called. He let her speak her piece, knowing everything she was going to say. She profusely apologized and said she would never forget their time together. Cody was bummed. He liked her, he really did. But the relationship was too new to get really broken up about. He was glad he didn't introduce her to his family or he to hers. He wished her the best of luck with Andrew and that was unceremoniously that.

Bailey, on the other hand, was a mess. Andrew, to his credit, let her down the next day. He told her that the pressures of dating a coworker was too much, and she believed him. He stopped getting her coffee and there were no more donuts set aside. She never realized that she had come to rely on his little gifts that much. So, instead, she was feeling guilty. If only she had paid attention to him sooner, and bullshit like that. But, she reasoned, she had only been at this office for a few months, and she had broken off her engagement so that was something to get over. Andrew... would be fine!

That wasn't the reason why she called Cody in a tearful mess. Cody was practically face down on his couch, his record playing a weird compilation of mid-century blues, pretending to have an existential crisis. He didn't hesitate to answer when he saw her name pop up on the caller ID but he wasn't overly excited at the same time. Her sobs caused him to sit up straight and get her to take enough deep breaths so she could assure him that she wasn't in danger. He listened to her blubber incoherently about 'not being good enough' and 'going back to blonde'. If he was honest with himself he wanted to put her on speaker phone and muted himself so he could play a video game just so he could say he was listening; but, he wasn't that much of a dick. So her request to meet up for a drink shocked him out of his reverie.

It was a dive bar he had never heard of and was surprised she did. The country music that filtered out made more sense. Afraid of his bike getting stolen, he took the subway, thankful it wasn't that far of a ride. Zack would also be proud that he wouldn't risk drinking and driving. Though, he wasn't sure if he should be the one doing the drinking with how upset Bailey had been on the phone. She was already two cocktails in when he saw her wave from her little high top table. The place was practically empty and he wondered just how long the bar had been in business.

He sauntered over to the bar, to ask for another round of what Bailey was drinking, both happy and surprised it was an Old Fashioned. He didn't take her to be a whiskey drinker but it gave him an idea. He pulled out his phone and looked up a recipe asking if the woman behind the bar could make it. She smacked her gum in response and whipped up two. He handled the four drinks in his two hands and barely got them on the table when she cried out his name and threw her arms around his neck.

Maybe the new round wasn't the best idea but he was fresh out of any better ones. "I got us another round, but I thought a shot would be in order."

Bailey's eyes lit up, eyeing the wide glasses, "What did you get?!"

"Something someone gave me when I dyed my hair." The shot was called 'Brunettes Can Be Sluts Too' and that someone was Jackson. He lifted his glass and she followed, unsure of why he wasn't drinking his. "Getting fucked over doesn't mean we can't get fucked up." They tapped their glasses back to the table before shooting the raspberry whiskey shot back. It went down a lot smoother than he expected and he smiled at Bailey's delight at the taste.

"I don't care that Andrew and I didn't work out," she finally admitted. He nodded. He was upset that he and Luna didn't work out. He wasn't in the mood to air his feelings out tonight. "I just... Do you ever feel like a failure?" Her brown eyes bore into his far more focused than she should be with the amount of alcohol already in her system.